For yet another week, the headlines have been dominated by protests against surging oil prices and concerns over the state of the world economy. 

Ministers of the Group of Eight most-industrialized countries tried to address these issues as they met in Japan last weekend.  But many of the solutions seemed to lie in the hands of a group of business leaders from the world's largest energy companies who, at the same time, attended an international economic forum in Saint-Petersburg. 

The meeting was an opportunity for Russia to showcase its growing economic might - with its new President Dmitry Medvedev hailing his country as a global economic model... and Russian energy giant Gazprom exuding pride at attracting such a group to its hometown. 

Probably no company better epitomizes Russia's revived power on the international business scene than the gas giant.  Gazprom is the largest extractor of natural gas in the world, one of the largest producers of oil and gas.

It gave Russia a prime minister, Viktor Chernomyrdin, and now a president, Dmitry Medvedev.  Both men were chairman at Gazprom.

It's Russia's largest company, and the third-largest in the world by market capitalization.

That's not enough for Alexander Medvedev, Gazprom's deputy chief executive officer. He tells FRANCE 24 Gazprom intends to become the world's biggest company within the next decade.

He also confirms Gazprom’s interest in taking a stake in TNK-BP, an oil joint venture which has been riven by infighting between its British and Russian shareholders.

To watch the whole interview, click “Play Video” above.